Hispanic World

Mexico incinerates tons of seized cocaine and marijuana in Acapulco

Acapulco, Mexico, Sep 20 (efe-epa).- The Mexican Navy incinerated 4.7 tons of cocaine, 468 kilograms of marijuana and 54 psychotropic pills seized in the states of Guerrero and Morelos, at a military base in the southern city of Acapulco, regional authorities announced Thursday.

Agents of Mexico's Marines participate in the destruction of drugs, in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, 20 September 2018. The Mexican Marines burnt 4.7 tonnes of cocaine, 468 kg of marijuana and 54 psychoactive pills seized at the states of Guerrero and Morelos. EPA-EFE/David Guzman

Agents of Mexico's Marines participate in the destruction of drugs, in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, 20 September 2018. The Mexican Marines burnt 4.7 tonnes of cocaine, 468 kg of marijuana and 54 psychoactive pills seized at the states of Guerrero and Morelos. EPA-EFE/David Guzman

Agents of Mexico's Marines participate in the destruction of drugs, in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, 20 September 2018. The Mexican Marines burnt 4.7 tonnes of cocaine, 468 kg of marijuana and 54 psychoactive pills seized at the states of Guerrero and Morelos. EPA-EFE/David Guzman

Acapulco, Mexico, Sep 20 (efe-epa).- The Mexican Navy incinerated 4.7 tons of cocaine, 468 kilograms of marijuana and 54 psychotropic pills seized in the states of Guerrero and Morelos, at a military base in the southern city of Acapulco, regional authorities announced Thursday.

The Attorney General of the Republic, Alberto Elias Beltran, said during the incineration that "a step is being taken in the protection of the population, since harmful materials are removed from circulation."

He also added that the prosecution is "expediting" the destruction of equipment used for drug cultivation which had been confiscated, in order to "destroy illicit goods and risks to health and safety."

For his part, the governor of Guerrero, Hector Astudillo Flores, noted that the drugs that were incinerated on Thursday will "no longer be a threat, especially for young people and also for men and women who undoubtedly face addiction problems."

This measure, however, was not in line with that of the Guerrero Congress, which agreed on Aug. 18 to present to the Mexican Congress an initiative which seeks to legalize the cultivation, production and commercialization of opium poppy, a plant from which heroin is produced.

About 60 percent of Mexican poppy comes from Guerrero. Its cultivation and sales support the economy of at least 1,287 local communities, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The president-elect of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is set to take office on Dec. 1, has opened the door to a possibility of decriminalizing some drugs to "pacify the country" in the face of the ongoing drug trafficking violence.